On the outskirts of Queens, Wyatt found himself within the cavernous expanse of a long-abandoned warehouse. One well outside of any high traffic areas and cameras.
As he walked through the warehouse, he looked around and watched as the sunlight filtered through the old broken windows, casting long jagged shadows across the floor littered with trash. Parked within the building were several rusted vehicles, their paint peeling and tires long deflated. All in all, it was the perfect location for Wyatt's needs.
As he took a deep breath, the musty scent of decay mingled with the faint smell of mold filled Wyatt's nose. Causing it to wrinkle.
"Gotta be careful. Don't wanna get a tetanus shot," Wyatt said as he looked around his new training center. "Okay. Let's get to it."
Raising his hands, Wyatt focused on the oxygen in front of him and condensed its molecular structure. He then transmuted the oxygen using his power, causing it to transform into a solid glowing reddish-pink ball of energy.
"Hello there, unnamed red-pink solid thing," Wyatt said as the ball floated in midair. He then commanded it to fly around the air in random directions and patterns. With a thought, the ball began to change into random shapes. "Okay... I think I got the hang of that. Let's see how many constructs I can make at the same time."
Closing his eyes, Wyatt extended his arms out. Within seconds, he created ten sphere constructs all around him. A bead of sweat began to form over his brow as he pushed himself to create two more constructs. "S-shit. It looks like all I can make right now are twelve. Let's keep pushing."
Over the next hour, Wyatt experimented with the number of different constructs he could create. He discovered that he could produce a maximum of twelve small constructs, each roughly the size of a basketball. For medium-sized constructs, comparable to a small car, he could manage up to six. However, he was only able to create two large constructs, each about the size of a one-story building.
Once he was done, Wyatt was left panting on the ground to catch his breath.
"Fuck that's exhausting… that was like running ten miles straight! No wonder Atom Eve couldn't spam her own constructs in the show!" Wyatt muttered as he finally caught his breath. "I'll test their durability later. Now for what I've been waiting for, let's learn how to fly without a disk."
Wyatt grinned and tried to imitate how Atom Eve flew. Holding his arms out beside him and pressing his feet together like Iron Man, he focused his power to project a stream of energy below his feet and hands.
In his excitement to fly, he accidentally applied too much of his power into his thrust.
"Shit!" Wyatt screamed as he shot up into the air and crashed against the wall behind him. Grunting, he slid down to the ground and moaned. "That could have gone better…"
••o••o••o••
"How peculiar," murmured a bald man in his late thirties. An intricate helmet, lined with wires leading to a complex high-tech computer, rested on his head. He was seated in a wheelchair on a long platform in a large circular room.
This man was Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X. He is the founder and headmaster of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, where mutants learn to control their powers for good. The device on his head was called Cerebro, a machine used to detect mutants all over the world.
"What is it, Charles?" asked Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm, as she approached the professor from behind.
"I've come across a fascinating young man with extraordinary abilities... If my assumptions are correct, we may have discovered an Omega-level mutant. However, something about him is... unusual." Charles observed Wyatt's through Cerebro as he attempted to fly in an abandoned warehouse. "According to Cerebro, this young man does indeed classify as a mutant... Yet, I'm unsure if he truly possesses the X-gene. The readings Cerebro is receiving are conflicting. And his mind..."
"How could this be?" Ororo asked, her curiosity piqued.
"I'm not sure, Ororo. Cerebro has never ran into such a situation like this before," Charles replied, opening his eyes and resting his chin in thought. "The only way to confirm my suspicions is to meet this young man."
Ororo nodded. "If he is indeed a potential Omega-level mutant, we can't take any chances. I'll gather a small team to meet him. What is his name?"
"His name is Wyatt Wilkins," Charles said.
••o••o••o••
"Yeah, I can fly."
A bruised and tired Wyatt said with a grin as he flew ten feet above the ground. From under his feet and hands, reddish-pink energy crackled as it kept him afloat.
With slight difficulty, Wyatt flew side to side with a childish smile. Turning to the open space within the warehouse, Wyatt began to slowly fly and swoosh around the enclosed area. In his excitement, Wyatt increased his speed too fast and was about to crash into the ceiling. Acting quickly, he undid a portion of the warehouses rooftop and flew out into the open sky.
Now out in the open, Wyatt looked down below him to see several worn-down buildings beside the warehouse he had been using to train his powers. This small section of Queens had been essentially abandoned and left to rot. Even now, he could see that those few who inhabited this space mainly were the homeless and petty criminals.
Considering that he was already outside and that there wasn't a clear chance that anyone could be watching him, Wyatt decided to take this opportunity to fly around in the open sky. Still, he made sure to stay low as to not gain any unwanted attention. As he flew around, Wyatt couldn't help but relish in the pure sensation of being airborne. Free from the restrictions of being bound to the ground. There was no better sensation than that of flying through the air.
Pausing, Wyatt looked out to see the Manhattan skyline. The iconic city stood in the distance, filling him with a deep sense of nostalgia.
After taking a deep breath, Wyatt focused on the density of the air around him. With a mental command, he reduced density within a foot around his body and immediately felt the resistance of gravity trying to bring him down lessen. Even with the density of the air lessening around him, he still felt his body naturally want to descend. But the effect allowed him to propel himself in the air more easily.
"Ah, much better." Wyatt muttered.
Wyatt wanted to test his limits and see how fast he could fly, but it was still midday, and he didn't want to risk being seen. He didn't need SHIELD, Hydra, or any other secret organization turning their attention on him—at least not until he had a better understanding of his powers.
Looking at the energy being propelled from his hands, Wyatt frowned. He stopped the flow of energy coming from his hands and relied on the thrust coming from his feet to keep him afloat. Immediately, his balance was thrown off, causing his arms to flail around to try to right himself. Opening his hands, he reactivated their thrust.
"Okay… that wasn't as easy as I thought. Still, if I ever have to fight in midair, I have to learn how to fly without relying on my arms to keep my balance," Wyatt said with a nervous grin.
For the next two hours, Wyatt tried to learn how to fly without his hands aiding in his propulsion. Throughout this time, he lost his balance and focus several times. Resulting in him almost crashing down on the ground several times. Due to all these near misses, he decided to err on the side of caution and fly closer to the ground.
"Shit! Why is this so difficult?!" Wyatt growled as he looked down at himself as he hovered over the ground. "Eve made this look so easy. What am I doing wrong?" He whispered.
"It's possible you're overcomplicating it. I know I struggled to learn how to fly properly at first." A new voice said from behind Wyatt.
Not expecting a reply, Wyatt lost his concentration and fell to the ground. Luckily for him, he was only four feet above the floor.
Ignoring the pain of falling on his behind, Wyatt shot to his feet and turned to see the owner of the new voice. She was young, possibly a year or so older than Wyatt, with long red hair and green eyes. The girl was also dressed in a black and green suit. On her shoulders were large red circles with X's in the center. Her name was Jean Grey, a member of Charles Xavier's X-Men.
Behind Jean were several other figures dressed in different costumes. Among them were Scott Summers, Kitty Pride, Kurt Wagner, Rogue, Evan Daniels, and Ororo Munroe.
Wyatt blinked and said nothing at the sight of several members of the X-Men. But something about their costumes and appearances didn't sit right with Wyatt.
Theyre all so… young. They don't resemble their movie counterparts at all. The only one that comes close is Storm. Wyatt thought.
The X-Men took Wyatt's silence for fear and tried to lighten the mood.
"Easy there, friend. We're not here to cause you any harm. We're just here to help!" Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, said with a friendly smile while raising his hands disarmingly. His thick German accent bled through his words.
"He's right. We're not here to hurt you, Wyatt. Even though we all pretty much just snuck up on you dressed in costumes, we're not here for anything nefarious. Truuust me." Kitty joked, hoping to ease Wyatt's stiff posture. "I'm Kitty, by the way. The fuzzy elf there is Kurt."
"What? Who are you people? And why are you all dressed for Halloween?" Wyatt said carefully while playing ignorant; despite knowing who they were in a general sense, he wasn't aware of this iteration of the X-Men.
"These aren't Halloween costumes, Bub." A low, gruff said from behind Wyatt.
Using his powers, Wyatt flew up into the air and turned to see a strong, hairy man in a black and orange suit. A sharp mask rested over his face while he eyed Wyatt carefully. This man was Logan Howlett—the legendary Wolverine.
No way. Wyatt thought in amazement at the sight of Wolverine.
He had always been a long-time fan of the character, and seeing him in the flesh was incredible. Despite the mask, he could make out that this Logan had the appearance of Hugh Jackman.
Holy shit, holy shit! Wyatt thought. His inner fanboy sneaking through.
To the X-Men, Wyatt's reaction to Logan was taken as fright at the man's sudden appearance, causing them to worry they were about to frighten off Wyatt.
Slowly, Ororo and Jean flew up a few feet away from Wyatt with gentle expressions.
"We apologize if we frightened you, Wyatt. That was not our intention," Ororo said with a caring smile. "I can understand if our friend Logan there scared you. For that, I apologize."
Logan growled lowly and sniffed the air. He paused and eyed Wyatt. There was no fear coming off the boy.
Odd kid. Logan thought.
"We were sent to come find you, Wyatt. We believe you're like us. A mutant. A person gifted with extraordinary abilities and talents. We're all from the Xavier Institute; it's a school that can help you understand and gain better control over your powers. You're more than welcome to join. That is, if you want. We won't force you to do anything you don't want." Jean said.
"He's the potential Omega class mutant? He doesn't seem like much to me." Evan whispered to Scott.
"Stop. We don't want to scare him off. We don't need the Brotherhood gaining another potentially powerful member." Scott whispered to Evan, who nodded.
Okay. Calm down. Gotta act like I don't know what's going on and who they are. Which I technically don't. Wyatt thought and visibly calmed down.
"You two are flying! And that guy's blue! You're saying that everyone else here has abilities?" Wyatt said as he, Ororo, and Jean descended to the ground.
"That's right. Everyone at the Xavier Institute has some ability or power. You wouldn't be out of place there." Rogue said with a thick southern accent. Wyatt turned to her and raised an eyebrow at her.
This version of Rogue is definitely not from the movies or the classic animated series. She's goth. Not that it's a bad thing. Wyatt thought and nodded to Rogue.
"So… you're all mutants?" Wyatt asked carefully as he looked down at his hands.
"We are... Is that a problem?" Scott asked with a hint of steel in his voice.
"Oh, no! I don't have anything against mutants. Really. If anything, I'm just confused as to why it seems that a good number of the population has an issue with you. Or, us, I guess." Wyatt said, the memory of his confrontation with the scared thugs from a few days ago still fresh in his mind.
"There's… a reason for that, unfortunately," Ororo sighed and gave Wyatt a small smile to rid herself of her thoughts. "We can explain everything to you at the Xavier Institute. It would be safer there."
Wyatt frowned, a little confused at what Ororo meant at the end. Even so, he nodded and accepted her offer.
If it weren't for his meta-knowledge of the X-Men and their values and mission to save any mutant in need and to coexist peacefully with humans, he would have most likely run away or fought them. He would try to, at least. At his current level, which was no level, he doubted he could escape from the Wolverine.
"Sure thing. How do we get to this institute? Do we walk or…?" Wyatt said with a false confused look. He already had an idea of how they all got here.
"Walking? No, my friend. We ride in style!" Kurt exclaimed with a wide grin as he gestured dramatically for Wyatt to follow him through the quiet, desolate streets and approached a large, empty lot.
As they reached the center of the lot, Scott pressed a button on a small remote. With a soft humming sound, a pulse of energy radiated through the air, illuminating the area for a brief moment. Suddenly, a striking black aircraft, reminiscent of a futuristic jet, materialized before them, its sleek lines and polished surface glinting in the dim light.
"This is the X-Jet. Pretty cool, right?" Scott said, a note of pride evident in his voice. The aircraft exuded a sense of power and sophistication, its wings poised elegantly like those of a predatory bird. Wyatt marveled at the sight, feeling the thrill of excitement tingling at the edges of his senses.
Wyatt was geeking out internally as he looked at the large, impressive aircraft. It was the X-Men's legendary Blackbird/X-Jet. No matter what iteration of the X-Men it appeared in, the jet was always a fantastic sight.
"No, not cool. It's awesome." Wyatt said as the door to the jet descended down in front of him.
——
AN: If you haven't guessed it, I'm injecting the X-Men: Evolution iteration of the X-Men into my version of the MCU. I'll also combine aspects of the Fox movies and some bits and pieces from their other shows and comics. I won't put too much focus on the X-Men, but they will have an equal level of presence in the world as the main MCU timeline characters.